10.28.2011

When I was around 7 years old I became obsessed with garbage bag twist ties. This sounds like some kind of Twist Ties Anonymous intro, but I really loved the things. So much so that I would steal them from wherever I would visit. Friends, family, grocery stores- if there was a twisty (as I called them) on the premises I would snag it. Why did I hunt these tiny little things down? So I could build all kinds of junk and not drive my parents insane with my endless asking for toys (I still drove them crazy).

The relevance of my time with twist ties is directly connected to what I create now. As a matter of fact I almost pursued a kind of "bendy" armature (much like the original OSM) instead of the Glyos pins that would have had slide on parts which would seat on small bumps, holding everything in place but completely removable and customizable. This was born from playing with the twist ties and learning how to build bigger and more complex figures. The thin tiny wires seemed perfect for cobbling together little guys, and once I started adding medical tape and tinfoil things really got bizarre. I made hundreds of twist tie guys and played with them as much as any of my mainstream toys. Over time my favorite creations would start to disintegrate, so I would retire the main players and introduce an all new cast that would carry on the story.

Every so often I'll whip together a twisty, and I'm reminded of the happiness that comes from wanting to create something, just to play with for a little while.

10 comments:

No way! That is awesome, I was hoping I wasn't alone in my insanity. I did that a lot as a kid too, most of them got destroyed by my younger siblings but I managed to save 3.My favorite one I still have it was made with a long spool of gardening twist-tie so it was one really long string of it that made up the green bug-eyed dude, I gave him a nose,jaw,and a tongue. I'll have to get a couple pictures now!

I got a peek at these and several other designs the first time that I visited Matt a few years ago. These are great in person, but it's the ones he sculpted over that are really mind-blowing. I posted pics last year: http://www.battlegrip.com/?p=15845

These posts are always my favorites... I love looking bad into the childhood of creative people... we made stuff without a care in the world about what other people thought. Thanks for sharing these, Matt! Looking forward to more ancient customs! :D

Twist ties weren't my thing, but I was a friggin' weaponsmith when it came to foil. I would construct shuriken, jets, humanoid figures, and the occasional ultra-dense foil cube that left dull metallic grey streaks all over the surface I ground it against. Ahh, good times... I miss that sort of unrestrained, resourceful creativity.

Clay was my medium, picked-up after a friend in some Y program or another clued me into his own sculpting. Organic exo-suits with hidden pilots inside, and toothpick-based weaponry . . . and whatever was used for the clay just never hardened.

The crew of "TwistTieGuys.jpg" look like they'd make for awesome Glyos customs of some kind; one can definitely tell how these guys influenced Glyos, almost a blueprint for what was to come. And it's great to see how early scarves started appearing in your work!